Mohamed Elneny has made the official AFCON Player of the Tournament, though Nicolas Pepe was unfortunate to be left out.

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Mohamed Elneny with the Egypt national team (Photo via Elneny on Twitter)

After making a run all the way to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, it’s great to see Mohamed Elneny selected in CAF’s Team of the Tournament for the event.

Elneny started all of Egypt’s seven matches at AFCON, and he only came off early twice – in the 78th minute against Guinea-Bissau, and in the 86th minute against Cameroon.

As a result, he played more minutes at AFCON than he has for Arsenal all season. He played more minutes in the knockout stages alone than he’s played for Arsenal all season.

A key part of the team that made it all the way to penalties in the final, Elneny deserves his place in the side.

The only disappointment is that Nicolas Pepe hasn’t joined Elneny, not even making the bench.

Pepe was named in SofaScore’s Team of the Tournament, and he was their highest-rated player at the event.

Nicolas Pepe with the Man of the Match award
Nicolas Pepe with the Man of the Match award

The Arsenal winger scored twice and assisted once in just three starts, and he created four chances in Ivory Coast’s eventual defeat to Egypt. If his teammates had converted any of those opportunities, Egypt never would have made the final.

Sadly, the CAF decision-makers opted against Pepe. The good news is that doesn’t change the fact he’s returning to Arsenal in strong form.